Opinions on Nashville TN?

This is a discussion on Opinions on Nashville TN? within the Off Topic & Humor Discussion forums, part of the The Back Porch category; I expect to get a good job offer from a place in Nashville this next week (4-16-07 to 4-20-07) and I am wondering if it ...

Opinions on Nashville TN?

I expect to get a good job offer from a place in Nashville this next week (4-16-07 to 4-20-07) and I am wondering if it is worth it to take it.

Some background: I went there yesterday, Friday 4-13-07 for a fact to fact interview and it went VERY well. In fact they told me that they would probably call and offer the job some time this next week.

I was done with the interview by about 3pm so I decided to drive around a bit and look at the town and some of the suburbs for an hour or two before making the 3 hour or so drive back to Memphis.

Traffic was AMAZINGLY bad! How in the world does anyone get around that town?

I looked at La Vergne and Brentwood. La Vergne seems kind of industrial and run down. Brentwood was just looked very expensive.
Does anyone have suggestions for a good suburb to buy a house in and live? With good schools, low crime and easy access to shopping and other things a family likes to do? Old Hickory?

I need suggestions.

We like the town we live in now. It isn't Memphis, it is a small town on the edge of Shelby County, Arlington. And except for the crime rate Memphis is actually a pretty cool city. I just don't particularly like the place where I work. And, if I could work at a much nice place, as this one I interviewed at was, for really good people which they seem to be, for more money, which it would be, then the only thing holding me back is the area itself.

Nashville traffic is just one of the facts of life here, we have three interstates meet here and the city is growing really fast. lots of construction, lots of people moving here from places like California to work at places like the new Nissan plant, etc, etc.

As for areas to live forget the Pegram suggestion I made via PM the other day, it's too far from the area you need. I still think the OHB corridor between I65 and I24 (Antioch - Brentioch) is a good option as the houses are big enough for your needs. Crieve Hall (between I65 and Nolensville Rd) is a hot area for ranch houses, it's an area that is going up in price but still affordable.

As long as you keep away from the obviously overpriced areas (Green Hills, Brentwood, 12 South, most of East Nashville, Sylvan Park) you'll be ok, but Crieve Hall is on the right side of town for your job.

I live over by the Percy Priest area (east of Nashville) - lots of parks, decent area. The Mt. Juliet and Smyrna areas are decent without the Brentwood price tags (though Mt. Juliet will be growing fast with the new Providence shopping center open).

AVOID: Anything near Harding Rd./Nolensville Rd. area. I know, I used to live there.

Yes, we have bad traffic, combined with TDOT wanting to work on all the interstates at the same time.

I can't comment on Old Hickory, I live out West presently and before that lived in Sylvan Park twice. Good areas but no use to you as they are a bad commute to the job.

Don't discount Crieve Hall, Betty is right about Nolensville Rd - I mentioned it too in my PM a few days ago, but Crieve Hall is popular with a section of our friends who are buying the houses and flipping them. The problem with Nolensville Rd is gang crime and illegal immigrants.

Any of the midtown arterials (Nolensville Rd, Charlotte Ave, Gallatin Rd, Murfreesboro Rd etc) have similar problems. There are little pockets of good areas like Sylvan Park or 12th South but they are all about $200 - $300 per square foot.

To get a large house at a reasonable price you need to beyond midtown (Nashville doesn't actually have a midtown like Memphis but I'm using the term anyway) to areas in and around the OHB corridors, OHB goes all around the city and depending where you are is a good option, probably your best option.

Don't forget that on Hobson Pike (off Murfreesboro Pike) is the outdoor range, lots of new houses there and at better prices than those in the trendy areas. Close to work too.

Lastly, and this is pertinent to me as my wife is trying to relocate her Mom here...

Nashville is a LOT more expensive than Memphis. Partly because it's state capital, partly because more people have better jobs, and partly just because...

You will like it here, we get better seasons than Memphis. Plus every time we go to Memphis to visit my wife's allergies go crazy, she spent her whole life there and hates the place.

Wait a minute 0.02....from what I can see so far, Nashville is not nearly as expensive as Memphis in the housing market. Looking on Realtor.com shows the same size and style of house (4 bedrooms 2+ baths with 2 car garage roughly 2000 sqft) going for about $200,000 here but in the suburbs of Nashville I have found many examples of the same type of house with the same number of bedrooms and square footage going for $160,000 to $180,000.

So what is so much more expensive in Nashville if not homes.

I looked at the uniform crime stats on line and Memphis does indeed have a higher over all crime rate than Nashville. But I had not heard about a gang problem in Nashville at all.

Honestly, I am really on the fence about this possible move. We really like the little town we live in. The schools are very good and crime in almost non-existent in Arlington. I really hate where I work but I believe I could live with it until I find something up in Indiana where we would like to live.

We have MS-13 and SUR-13 tags spray painted all over the place (especially in the Harding/Nolesnville area ), though it's mostly been gang-on-gang crime. There's been some convenience store robbery/murders lately, but thoses were in the same area.

Davidson Co. (Nashville) has stupid emissions test for cars (it took me four times before I could pass this year). Williamson Co. is the most expensive.

Since WKRN is in Murfreesboro, you may want to check out Smyrna or LaVergne.

How bad is the traffic on I-24 from Smyrna-Murfreesboro to Nashville? Back when I used to live then, it was a 20 min drive tops from Murfreesboro to Music Row.

Depends on TDOT and how many wrecks there are that day but in rush hour I would give 45 mins each way, it gets ridiculous anywhere near Music Row, probably because Belmont University and Vanderbilt have grown so much since you were here.

SigP239 - I was referring to house prices, living costs, everything costs, even guns are cheaper in Memphis. You might be looking at houses that are the same price as your area but it isn't common, people move here from Memphis and complain about the costs, I've heard it over and over.
The crime rate here is going up but still low compared. Five years ago some friends moved here from Memphis and thought that there was a conspiracy on the local news to not report all the local murders, it took them a while to realize that there just aren't many.
MS13 is out East but also spreading along Charlotte Pike, they kill each other as Betty said, in nightclub carparks at 2am mainly which doesn't effect me, but they have also been doing stop and robs, and late last year we had two killings where they killed random folk as an gang initiation. I just stay away from them, where I live it's all little old Jewish ladies in new Cadillacs. If MS13 comes here I'll notice them coming, deal with it accordingly.
If you're on the fence then I would definately consider the schools. I can't help there at all, no kids. Other than that I think Nashville beats Memphis.
BTW, we do have Dollar General. We also have the best range/gunstore in a 200 mile radius up in Greenbrier.

"He went on two legs, wore clothes and was a human being, but nevertheless he was in reality a wolf of the Steppes. He had learned a good deal . . . and was a fairly clever fellow. What he had not learned, however, was this: to find contentment in himself and his own life. The cause of this apparently was that at the bottom of his heart he knew all the time (or thought he knew) that he was in reality not a man, but a wolf of the Steppes."

You sound like you lived here at one time. I will assume you don't anymore because if you did, you would know that the good old Arlyburger has been closed down for some time. The Dollar General is still there.

Gordons is gone and we now have a big Kroger super market. Next to the Kroger they are building a Kroger gas station and an Autozone auto parts store.

Arlington is growing at a pretty good rate. I hate the thought of not being here to see it all.